Rags to Robots
by Forgot-to-remember01
Summary: Maria Haddie Markson is a normal girl with a boring life. Four siblings, three bedroom house, small town in Texas. Everything is always the same and she's nothing out of the ordinary. Or so she thinks. One day Tony Stark shows up and secrets of her past are revealed. She quickly gets thrown into the world of the Avengers as Ultron rises. How will she and Tony deal with the threat?
1. Chapter 1: Worlds that don't belong

(set after the Battle of New York right before Age of Ultron (skips iron man 3))

Tony Stark was not the type to admit when he was not okay. No, but he, like anyone, had signs. Now, his signs were definitely less visible, he had gotten good at hiding his feelings, but they were still there. One person who had always been able to spot his feelings, every single one, was a woman named Joy Markson.

Joy knew him even better than even Pepper Potts. She had known him since before he could even remeber, they grew up together. Joy wasn't rich, by any means, but her mother had been close with Maria Stark since before she married Howard and into the rich life. Often Tony and Joy would run around his family mansion pulling all sorts of pranks and playing card games in closets lit with flashlights as they had from their parents.

As they grew older and people started befriending Tony for his riches, she became one of the few people Tony could trust. After his parents died, she was his rock. He didn't know where he would have been without her. When he was standing on the edge of alcoholism in early adulthood, she was the one that held him there, not allowing him to fall over.

With this shared history, they did have a relationship. They were both 23 and clueless, yet they had been in love since before they even knew what love was. It didn't last long, seeing as Tony was still such a mess. Drinking, partying, and- much to his regret- cheating. They fought a lot during that time and it hurt both of them.

They tried to make the relationship work, but it never happened. One night, she just up and left. Left him a note saying not to look for her and was gone. Of course he looked and easily find her address, but knew she was better off without her, and he left her alone. He didn't want to hurt her anymore, she was the only woman he had ever loved. Only person he truly cared about.

Looking back on it, especially with Pepper in the picture, he realized a relationship never would have worked. The love they had for each other was more of a brother-sister thing, but in the loneliness, mistaken for something else. Plus, Tony wasn't in the right place. He had needed time to grow up, something that took much longer than it should have.

Standing on her doorstep he pondered the idea of turning around. Whatever life she had made for herself, didn't need him back in it. But, oh, he needed her. Not as a lover, once again, she was like his sister and Tony was completely faithful and in love with Pepper. No, he needed her as his rock again. The battle of New York left him in a terrible state not even Pepper could help him with. He knew though, that if anyone could help him, it was Joy. So he did it. He knocked.

When she opened the door he had to take a step back. Seeing her again was just so... nice. She gasped, taking in the sight of him, which he admitted, was bad. His hair was disheveled and dark circles rested underneath his eyes from a lack of sleep. He still had faint bruises and cuts left on his face from the fight. He was a wreck.

"Tony," she breathed. He gave her a half smile.

"Hey,"

Without warning she ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck. He naturally wrapped his arms around her and smiled, burying his face in her auburn hair. It smelled the same as it had almost seventeen years before.

"We were watching new news when that all went down. I've been worrying like crazy about you," she muttered. He smiled lightly. She still thought about him after all these years. They let go of each other.

"Tony, how much sleep have you been getting?" she asked, they continued to stand on the porch. He sighed and looked down.

"Can we go inside?" he asked, his eyes going back to hers. She bit her lower lip and glanced behind her. That was when Tony noticed the background noise was more than just a TV. Voices that were clearly in the house were also being used.

"Uh... Sure," she sighed and moved to the side. He walked in as she closed the door behind them. The brown couch was occupied by a young blonde female, probably around twelve or thirteen, watching some tween show. On the harwood floor sat two young boys around the ages of three and nine surround by toy trains and cars. As he walked further he saw that in the kitchen, which was wide open and could be seen easily in the living room, was another blonde whom looked exactly like the first, doing her homework at the bar. She had a family. One he, sadly, never knew about.

"Iron Man!" the nine year old spotted him first and ran over, "can I get a picture?!"

"Jacob," Joy warned, "leave him be," she said. Tony waved her off and gave the kid a smirk.

"Sure kid, only if you promise I'm your favorite Avenger." he said. The kid nodded eagerly.

"Definitely. You are the coolest!" he exclaimed. Joy shook her head but couldn't help but smile as she took out her phone.

"Alright, smile," she said, pulling up the camera. After that was over with one of the twins, the one who had been doing her homework, turned to her mother.

"Mom, why is Tony Stark here?" she asked. Joy looked between the girl and Tony. An older guy chose to walk though the front door and into the kitchen at that moment. He looked at Tony as if he wasn't sure if he should angry or fine with his presence.

"We're old friends," she answered simply, "I suppose I should introduce everyone." she said. "This is my husband Matt, my twin girls Taylor and Talia, Jacob, and the little one who's still in his own little world over there is... Anthony..." she said the last part quietly. He grinned smugly, she named a kid after him.

"That kid is going to be awesome," he winked, he then, awkwardly, held out a hand to Matt.

"Nice to meet you," he smiled. The man nodded.

"You too," finally, he cracked a friendly smile and dropped his hand. It was silent other than the TV when they heard the front door open and close. Tony didn't miss the way the other two adults in the room froze. In walked a young brunette, the only brunette in the family of blondes and red heads, walked over and stopped short, seeing everyone gathered in the kitchen.

She was clearly the oldest of the now five kids and somehow she even looked much more mature. Her eyes were a golden brown that, like her hair, matched no other member of the family. Something about her was so familiar. Everyone was quiet for a long amount of time before Joy calmly said:

"Ahh, and last but not least, my oldest daughter Maria," she said.

"How old are you?" Tony asked, coming off as nonchalant to everyone but Joy, she could see the gears turning.

"Sixteen,"

Tony looked up at Joy, who shifted uncomfortably. Sixteen. Had the last time Tony and Joy done it together created a child she'd be sixteen. If Tony got a say in her name, it would be Maria. After his mother. That was the pattern with the names, though. Maria, his mother. Taylor and Talia, Joy's mother and aunt who happened to be twins. Jacob, Joy's father. Anthony, him. They were named after people. Joy had always been the sentimental type.

"So uh, Matt, how long have you and Joy been married?" Tony asked, a tight smile on his face.

"Almost seventeen years," he answered, cautious. He had to have know, the way he looked at Joy and Maria. He had to have known what Tony knew. Maria was his.

"Hey, Matt, could you please take the kids out to dinner so I can talk business with Tony?" she asked, lying for the kids sake. He nodded and gave her hand a squeeze before leaving. Once they were out of the house and the car had been pulled away, Joy turned back to Tony.

"Is she mine?"

"Yes,"

Tony nodded and looked down, tossing the information around in his head. He had to figure out what it was he was feeling and what he wanted to do about it. He was angry. He was confused. He was sad. He wanted to get to know her.

"You didn't tell me I had a daughter?" he asked, his voice steady and low. She sighed and moved further back into the kitchen, beginning to make some coffee.

"Can you blame me Tony? Do you not remeber the person you were back then? If you weren't drunk you were hungover. That on top of all the negative publicity... Can you honestly tell me she was better off?" she asked. Tony sighed. She was right and he knew it, but still. He had a right to know! With his desperation to be anything but his father, maybe knowing he had a kid would make him want to sober up. So he could be the father he never had.

"We could have worked it out. She deserves to know who her father is. I deserved to be in her life," Tony replied.

"She thinks her father is Matt," Joy said slowly. Tony froze.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Well, what did you expect, Tony?! I met Matt several months before you and I were even together and he was always so kind. When you dragged my heart through the mud he was there. He helped me leave when I got pregnant and took care of me. We decided to get married about a month before she was born so that she could have the stable family that neither you or I ever got. You should be happy. She's grown up well," Joy ranted. Something in the last few sentences set Tony on edge. It didn't sound right, the way she said it. It was as if she was saying she only tried to give their daughter a good life. As if something went wrong.

"You need to tell her, Joy," Tony said, firm. Joy scoffed. Her expression changed. It matched her eyes, he only just then noticed that the darkness that had been sitting in them.

"I don't have to do anything," her words were venom.

"You can't keep my daughter from me, Joy. She's as much kine as she is yours," Tony insisted. Joy slammed the pot of coffee down on the counter and came closer to him.

"You have no right, Tony Stark. No right,"

"Funny, we both always said we would be nothing like our parents yet here you are now and you sound just like your mom," Tony grunted, finally realizing why her actions were so foreign yet so familiar. Joy wasn't who she used to be. Joy had become her mother.

The only time Tony had ever seen any sort of domestic, average income, life, outside of the TV shows, was with Joy. Even then, it was rare he was at her house, the girl had always preffered his place, not for the size or the money, but for the difference in environments. Tony's father was never around and always working, so his house was lonely, sure, but Joy's house was awful. She was the middle child, she had an older sister and a younger brother. Her mom didn't have a maternal bone in her body. The woman had once been soft and always pretended to be in public, especially around the Stark adults, but in her own home, she was wretched. At her worst she would scream at the kids and throw and slam things around. Her more softer acting was a bunch of shouting and insults thrown at the kids. Who knew why the woman was so terrible, it didn't matter, she just was. While Tony refused to be his father, Joy refused to be her mother.

"Don't you dare say that to me," Joy whispered. Tony frowned angrily at her. Now he was more focused on a different anger, a new one.

"Joy," he said slowly, "please tell me that our daughter did not grow up the way you did," he practically begged. She opened her mouth to confirm, but then terror clouded her eyes, quickly covered by more anger.

"Of course not," she said. Tony, knowing that he needed to calm her down if he was going to have a chance at having a relationship with Maria, put a hand on your shoulder.

"Calm down, Joyful," he smiled half heartedly and at the nickname she began to breathe. The red slowly leaving her face.

"What is it you want?" she asked, walking away from him and to the sink when she stuck her hands underneath cold water.

"I want you and your husband to sit down with her and be honest. I want to get to know her as my daughter," he said. She closed her eyes and shut off the faucet. He could see the struggle.

"Okay... Okay fine."

Tony did not like the idea. Dropping such a huge bomb on the teenage girl in a local coffee shop, with him present, sounded terrible. Originally, he had assumed that Joy and Matt would talk to her, then bring Tony into the picture. Ease Maria into it. Apparently they disagreed. Joy insisted she knew her daughter well enough to know ripping the bandaid off was better. Still, Tony saw it more as throwing her into the deep end of a freezing cold pool, with sharks. He didn't have time to explore this idea as Maria walked in, trailing behind her was her mother and step father. She spotted Tony and raised a confused eyebrow. He waved at her and she made the decision that that was where the needed to go.

"Are you the person we're meeting?" she asked.

"Yeah, they didn't tell you?" Tony asked as the couple went to order coffee. She shrugged and sat down across from him.

"They're always vague when they're nervous. They don't like telling me things before they drop whatever information it is they've kept from me because I normally figure it out." she replied. He chuckled, already seeing the resemblance.

"So what do you think is going on?" he asked her, curious. The corners of her lips twitched down as she looked at the table.

"They've been lying to me. It's something big. I can tell." she sighed. He felt the urge to pull her into a hug. She already looked really upset and he already cared about her enough that it upset him to see her like that. Instead he opted to put his hand over hers.

"It's gonna be okay, kiddo,"

She peered at him and he resisted the urge to squirm underneath her gaze. It was like she could read his mind, like she was seeing straight through him. She had that gaze, the one where you knew that they knew exactly who and what you were. After several moments her features shifted, he could see the gears turning and it was his turn to know what was going on in her head. He knew that it had already clicked on her mind. He also knew, by her expression that often rested on his own face, that she was blocking the realization out.

"Hey," Matt said softly, sliding a steaming mug to the teenager and sitting next to Tony. Joy followed and slid in next to her daughter. The girl gripped the mug like a lifeline, her eyes flicking between each adult at the table.

"Mom," she said slowly, "what is going on?" she asked. Joy looked down at her own coffee and turned it slightly before taking in a breath.

"Your father and I have been keeping something from you and we believe it's time you knew. Now, you may get angry, but we need you to understand, we had good intentions. We wanted you to grow up well. Happy." Tony didn't miss the way Maria scoffed at the last word.

"Spit it out," she practically whispered, her words ice cold. She definitely had put it together. How? Tony had know idea, it's not like the girl had much to go on, yet, she was his daughter, so she probably didn't need much.

"Tony... Tony is your biological father,"

They all sat there in a still silence, watching the brunette for a reaction. Her eyes were locked onto her mothers, she was processing the information. As it began to sink in she looked at Matt, then, finally, Tony.

"Did you know?" she asked him. He shook his head.

"No, not until yesterday,"

"Did you tell her she had to tell me?"

"Yes..."

Maria seemed to be getting angrier by the second and Tony considered not answering her next question in fear that she might explode. He was saved, though, when she turned to her mother.

"I want complete honesty when I ask the next question," she ordered. Joy scoffed, getting angry at her daughter's anger. This confused Tony.

"Don't speak to me that way, I'm your mother," she spat. This is what pushed her over the edge, she stood, her chair scraping the floor.

"Are you?! Because who knows what else you've been hiding from me! I deserved to know, Mom." the last word was packed with venom, Joy also stood up, their eyes locked on each other's. Tony took this moment to pull a waitress over and bribe her to kick everyone out, which she began abruptly. The two girls watched as people scurried out and then turned back to each other.

"I was doing what I thought was best," Joy hissed.

"Okay, let's all just calm down." Matt interjected. The women sighed and slowy sat back down.

"So what now?" Maria asked, avoiding looking at her mom.

"School just let out right? Why don't you come spend the summer in Malibu," Tony suggested.

"I don't know how I feel about that," Joy said, acting as if she hadn't just been in an argument. Maria glared at the side of her mother's head and then turned back to Tony.

"You really want to spend an entire Summer with a teenage girl?" she challenged, raising an eyebrow.

"I can handle it." challenge accepted.

"Then yes. I'll come." she answered.

"Now hold on just a second," Joy began to get angry again.

"No, mom. I think a whole summer away from you is just what I need," she said. Joy glared at her.

"Your father and I need to discu-"

"My father was the one who suggested it," Maria bit out.

"You know I wasn't talking about Tony," Joy replied, just as heated.

"You can go," Matt interrupted. Maria looked at him hopefully.

"What? But, Matt-"

"We've kept the two apart for a long time and lied about it. We don't really have the right to deny her this." he said, looking at his wife with sterness. He then flicked his eyes to Maria, they softened, turning more sad.

"If you want to go with Tony for the summer, I'm not stopping you," he said. She smiled.

"Thanks, Dad." she said. Tony was barely able to hold back his flinch, she turned to him.

"Next Saturday is the annual Summer fest and I don't want to miss it, but I'll leave after," she said. He nodded.

"Great, I'll come, we can leave when it's over," he said. She raised an eyebrow but then smiled an nodded.

"Can't wait,"


	2. Chapter 2: Who were you trying to be?

Maria sat at her desk chair, staring in the mirror as Danielle curled her hair, Kade watched from where he sat on her bed. The two of them were pretty much her only friends, which she didn't mind. Maria was a guarded girl, her mother lied to her so much and spent so much time trying to manipulate her, she didn't trust easily. Danielle and Kade took forever to get in, but it had been worth it in the end. This was why they were her only friends, no one else could stay.

"I still can't believe this," Danielle sighed, glancing up at the Avengers poster on the wall. Maria followed her gaze.

"I really need to take that down before he sees it." she replied. Kade chuckled.

"Nah, it just proves how lucky you are, one of your heros turned out to be your father," he said. The girls both looked at him though the mirror, Danielle was glaring.

"I wouldn't call it lucky," both girls said at the exact same time. They had a habit of doing that.

"Sorry, that was insensitive," he smirked.

"When is anything you say not?" Maria questioned with an eye roll. He shrugged, earning a snicker from both girls.

"But seriously, you're leaving for the entire summer... With Kade!" she exclaimed. The boy stuck his tongue out at her which the girl promptly returned.

"I think you guys will make it," Maria said. Truthfully, though, she was second guessing the choice to leave. There were so many pros and cons.

Pro: getting away from her mother

Con: leaving her best friends.

Pro: getting to know her real father

Con: being in a whole new place knowing no one but her father.

The list could go on and on but she couldn't back out. Tony wasn't just her biological father. Tony was an entire life she could have had. If she didn't go to Malibu she was afraid there would be to many unanswered questions. She only liked mysteries she could solve.

Taylor and Talia came into the small room, chatting among themselves about who knows what. The two of them were best friends yet they were so different, Maria had no idea what they could possibly talk about that they both enjoyed.

"Are you two ready?" Maria asked as Danielle finished the last curl.

"Yep!" they both exclaimed, plopping onto their own beds. Maria had six family members and they all lived in a three bedroom house. Three girls in one room, two boys in the other, and Mom and Dad in the last. It was very cramped.

"Alright, ladies, how does your big sis look?" Danielle turned the spinning chair around to show the twins. Maria rolled her eyes but smirked anyways.

"Like Tony Stark's daughter," Taylor answered, earning a groan from the oldest sister. Seeing that Maria would be gone for the summer they decided it would be best not to add on to the pile of lies and just tell the children of Maria's parentage. Well, the twins, the boys would probably tell everyone and no one wanted Maria's face all over tabloids. Taylor was extremely frustrated she hadn't seen the resemblance before, but in her defense, who'da thought to look for it?

"Taylor, let it rest," Talia sighed.

"I can't, it's so frustrating! She looks just like him! And they eyes! They're brown! No one in our immediate or extended family has brown eyes! Of course she got them from Tony!" Taylor exclaimed.

"Tony's eyes are blue, I thought," Talia said.

"No they're not, they're brown," Taylor argued.

"It doesn't matter. Besides, don't let Mom hear you talking about him, you know how she is," Maria said softly. The girls huffed but didn't continue the conversation.

"Ladies! Let's go!" their mom called from the kitchen. The twins ran out and Maria shook her head.

"Okay, are you guys finally ready?" Kade asked, standing up with his keys in his hands.

"Yeah," Maria grabbed her bag and followed the two of them out of the house.

She was nervous, to say the least, as she sat in the back of her best friend's car. Not that she would ever admit it, no, she would pretend not to care, that's what she always did. Still, it was the first time she would be seeing Tony since the bomb was dropped and that was a crazy afternoon. She was still trying to wrap her brain around her father not actually being her father. Well... He was still her father, he was the one that raised her and had she known Tony she would be a completely different person, but not biologically. Her thoughts went on through the ride and she was surprised to find herself standing on a gravel parking lot that led into a park.

"Well, I guess I'll go to my station," she said with a small smile. The crew had arrived an hour and a half early due to the fact they volunteered every year. Maria helped out with the music, she occasionally messed around with the band- which was always the same group of guys whom she had known since kindergarten, perks of living in a small town- on stage and sang a little.

"Maria!" Jonathan Smith, lead singer of Chronically Insane, greeted her with arms wide. He was... Something. Not necessarily a flert, because he was always kidding about it, maybe just a clown. Yeah, a clown.

"Jonny!" a sheepish grin slipped onto her face. When around the band members, she switched into an attitude that she would now and forever after call her "Stark Mood" considering it had to be something she got from her father. They embraced each other and rather than completely letting go, Jonathan kept his arm around her, she opted to roll her eyes rather than push him away.

"I've got your picture, I'm going with you, dear Maria, count me in!" he loudly belted out the lyrics to the famous All Time Low song causing her to giggle.

"There's a story at the bottom of this bottle and I'm the pen," she sang much softer as she walked with him.

"Maariaaaa!" Peter Sheen, lead guitarist.

"Finally! Girl, what took you so long," Jordan, gayest of the gays, pranced over to her, taking her from Jonathan. She sighed, pretend exasperated, but totally not upset. When she was with the guys, she felt important.

"Please, Jordan, it takes time to look this good," she teased, fanning herself with her free hand.

"Honey, you look gorgeous no matter what you do!" he exclaimed. She chuckled and pulled away.

"Alright, ladies, let's get set up for sound check," she winked. They just rolled their eyes and began getting speakers and thing plugged in.

Maria pulled herself onto the stage and propped guitars on their stands as Jordan set up his drums. As she got the last of it together she turned to the mic.

"Testing, testing, one, two, three," she said, tapping the mic. She looked at the sticker on the side.

"Can we get the volume turned up on mic 3?" she asked into it.

"Got you! Can you count?" Wyatt, bassist, last unmentioned member called.

"Yeah, yeah. One. Two. Three. Four. Fi- okay okay that's good!" she called. Wyatt gave her a thumbs up.

"I think this is the time I'm supposed to say say away from boys in bands," Tony walked onto the stage. She looked at her watch and then back up to him.

"Tony, it's 6:30, we don't start till 7:30, why are you here?" she asked.

"I got the times mixed up," he said, sounding annoyed at having to even say it. She didn't really understand why until-

"That's because he didn't have me, and Lord knows he can't even tie is shoes without me," a red head had opted to stay at the bottom of the stage, rather than on.

"I was this close, Pep," Tony pinched his fingers "this close, I did good!" he practically pouted. Maria chuckled and hopped down, Tony followed.

"Maria, this is my girlfriend Pepper, she lives with me too." Tony introduced them. The two smiled at each other and Maria heald out her hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Maria as you just heard," she said.

"Nice to meet you too, Maria," Pepper was kind. The young Stark could already tell she liked her.

"Well, I guess we have time, I can show you around," the teen offered.

"Me too!" Jonathan ran over and slung an arm around her.

"Don't you have an actual sound check to do? Ya know, rehearsal?" Maria questioned.

"Eh, they don't need me."

"You're the lead singer. Also, a band doesn't really work without all the members," Maria insisted.

"Alright, Miss Songbird, you got me, they need a singer. You go do it and I will show Mr. Stark and the lovely lady around." he replied. Pepper smirked, amused. Tony seemed unsure of him.

"You just want to talk to Iron Man," Maria called him out.

"Truth!" Wyatt called from the stage.

"Wrong, I want to talk to the beautiful woman occupancied by Iron Man," Jonathan winked. Maria rolled her eyes and made a gagging noise.

"Go do your job," she pushed his arm off.

"Okay, but only if you join me. I haven't really heard those pipes of yours in a while," he negotiated.

"Come on, Canary!" Peter begged. She raised her arms and dropped them.

"Fine, fine. Go away," she pushed Jonathan and turned back to Tony.

"Duty calls," she shrugged.

"I'm interested to see this," he smirked, following her back to the stage. She inwardly groaned, the night was definitely not going as planned and it hadn't even really started yet.

"Alright, Jonathan, move," she pushed the teenager away from the mic and he stuck his tongue out at her. She rolled her eyes and adjusted the stand.

"What song?" she asked, looking over at Peter. He pulled the navy guitar strap over his shoulder and began to tune.

"Whatever you want, Canary," he smirked. She sighed, exasperated with their teasing.

"Alright, let's do 'Chasing Days'." she ordered. The band got their instruments together and began to play. She sang the first few lines, her voice had a raspy sound to it that have her an edge on longer notes. Once it was over she jumped off.

"Hurry up, fest starts soon!" she called walking away. The boys shouted back small acknowledgments as she walked over to the billionaire. Tony smiled, pride swelling in his chest, but didn't say anything, she was good.

"Hmmm, with pipes like that you gotta wonder if your father can sing?" Pepper turned to Tony who chuckled in response.

"The world will never know," he winked.

"Well now I gotta know!" Maria exclaimed.

"My lips are sealed." he replied. She fake pouted when the twins ran over.

"See! Brown eyes!" Taylor pointed to the man.

"Aw, I really thought they were blue," Talia's lower lip jut out at the thought of being wrong. Tony looked between the two pre-teens, confused.

"Yeah, whatever, but Maria has his eyes, one hundred percent," Taylor pointed out, pointing between the two of them. Pepper now stood back and looked at the two Starks, nodding.

"You're right. She honestly looks way more like him than Mom," Talia pointed out.

"They do look very similar," Pepper agreed.

"Taylor, Talia, this is Pepper, Tony's girlfriend. Pepper these are my little sisters," Maria took the liberty of introducing the potential step mom whom she had only just met. The girls smiled and said hi before scurrying away again. Maria rolled her eyes and looked over to see Tony staring at her. She raised her eyebrows.

"What, did I suddenly grow another head?" she asked. He smirked.

"They're right, you do look like me," he said as they continued their 'tour' through the park that wasn't really a tour because Maria wasn't really naming what anything was.

"A little," she admitted. She looked back down at her watch, 7:18, people were beginning to show up.

"Get ready, the wave is coming in about two minutes,"

"So everyone comes ten minutes early?" Pepper asked.

"Yes."

Maria stood in between Danielle and Jared, a dart in her hand. They stood watching with eagerness. She pulled back her wrist, and flicked. It went spinning straight into the bullseye.

"Score!" she shouted, pumping her fists in the air.

"Alright, here's your annual stuffed zebra," Grace McClain, the same college student who worked the booth every year, tossed it to her. Engraved on the front right hoove was her name.

"Nice touch." she said, hugging it to her chest as she glanced up at the board. Three darts somehow all fit on the small black dot in the middle. She did it every year, it wasn't even that big of a deal, she got bullseye in darts all the time, but the annual zebra, was amazing.

"You did that?" Tony asked, walking over.

"Yes I did, yet again!" she cheered.

"Easy," he said, unphased. She shrugged.

"Probably," she said. Pepper raised her eyebrows.

"Okay, first time she's said something that didn't remind me of you," the ginger replied.

"Oh no, girls got something planned for later. She's waiting for the right time to show off now." Jared said.

"Mhmm." Danielle replied.

"And never mind," Pepper said again. Matt then joined the group.

"Already got your stuff loaded in the limo, hun," he said. She scrunched her eyebrows and looked at her watch again. It was way later than she thought.

"Oh... Well, I guess we should get going then?" she looked to Tony who nodded. She hugged her two friends and then her Dad, her step one.

"Bye, Daddy," she said as they hugged tightly. He kissed her on the head and smiled. They departed and then teen found herself following the super hero and his girlfriend to a sleek black limousine. There it was, proof things were about to change.

Sitting on the jet Maria's leg bounced. It was flying through the dark sky and she was doing everything she could not to hurl.

"You alright?" Pepper asked her. She gave the older woman a tight smile and nodded.

"Mhmm. Just a nervous flyer," she replied. Tony frowned.

"Do you need anything?" he asked, slightly uncomfortable. He wanted to do this all right but he wasn't exactly 'Dad' material. She shrugged and pushed a lock of chestnut hair behind her ear.

"No, I'll be fine," she pursed her lips and the couple glanced st each other.

"Think of it this way, if anything happens, Iron Man will save you," Pepper said with a hint of sarcasm. Maria just nodded and slid down in her seat, pulling out her phone and headphones. She squeezed her eyes shut as Panic! At the Disco began to blare through her speakers. She could do this. Jets was only one thing on this journey she was going to have to get used too. There were also superheros, beaches, big cities, and no matter how hard she was going to try to stay hidden, she knew eventually, tabloids. She was going to embrace it. All of it.


	3. Chapter 3: Villains that live in my head

**A/N: Hey guys! Please please make sure to read the A/N at the end when you're done!!! Thanks!**

Maria wobbled out of the plane, her legs shaky from three hours of sitting. She could have stood up and walked, but she was too afraid. She stumbled slightly, but caught herself.

"You good, Kid?" Tony asked as he and Pepper followed her.

"Now I am," she replied, walking towards the limo.

The ride to the mansion was a few hours surprisingly, causing her to fidget even more. She was tired of sitting, she wanted to get there so she could get changed and go on a run.

"Sorry, we stopped at an earlier stop to drive the rest of the way. Thought it would make you more comfortable," Pepper mentioned, noting her restlessness. Maria blinked a few times at the words.

"Oh! You didn't have too!" her cheeks went red with embarrassment. The woman smiled warmly and Tony couldn't help but grab the beautiful woman's hand.

"Sweetheart, it's not a problem. We wanted you as comfortable as possible." she said.

"Yeah, flying's overrated anyways," Tony added. This caused Maria to chuckle.

"Says Ironman." she teased.

"Just means I know enough to know it's overrated," Tony replied. She just smiled and sat back in the seat. She didn't know how to feel. People never changed changed their plans for her, no one had ever cared that much. The fact that Tony-or at least his girlfriend- did was... She didn't know the word.

When they finally pulled up to the the rather secluded place, she stared up with wide eyes. She wondered if that would ever become a second home for her. She doubted it, she grew up sharing a tiny bedroom with her two sisters, a place like this would doubtfully ever become comfortable.

Nevertheless she hopped out of the car the moment it stopped, ready to get inside. Happy Hogan, head of Stark Industries security, grabbed her bags for her. She wondered why he was still running errands and such that a body guard would do, but assumed he was just used to it. She thanked him and tried to take it, but he waved her off.

"I'll get it to your room, Miss Stark," he said. She flinched at that. Tony may have been her father, but that didn't automatically change her name.

"Uh, Markson... That doesn't matter though, call me Maria," she said with a smile. He nodded, smiling lightly.

"Tony and I were thinking of going to dinner in an hour, are you interested?" Pepper asked, catching up with the quick girl. She shrugged.

"Yeah, I'll just need a shower first," she admitted. Pepper nodded.

"Agreed."

"So, Maria, what do you like to do for fun?" Pepper asked. The girl shrugged and looked down at her scuffed flats, the only pair of nice shows she owned.

"I don't know. I read. Sing. When I can get my hands on a computer I enjoy messing with them, seeing what I can do," she shrugged.

"Are you a hacker?" this time you could hear a trace of fear. She chuckled.

"Um... I don't know, never have had my hands on a computer long enough. Though, I would love to take one apart," she said. Pepper nodded and exchanged a glance with Tony.

"Why?"

"See how it works, see if I can put it back together. That, is the most interesting part of electronics to me. Or, really anything... I've broken a lot of things do that..." she shrugged. The two adults nodded in approval.

"So you get the engineering from Tony," Pepper said. Maria kinda squirmed in her seat as she nodded.

"Maybe I can teach you how to build your own suit," Tony commented. Her eyes lit up.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Tony," Pepper leveled a glare at her irresponsible boyfriend, "it could be dangerous. Besides, her Mom probably wouldn't like it."

"It's not like she'll be doing Avenger stuff. Just creating it. As for her Mom, I don't really care. Joy has become a real b-"

"Tony!" Pepper exclaimed, cutting him off. Maria couldn't help but die of laughter. Tony smirked at her. It wasn't even clever, it was just so true and Pepper's exasperation with him was priceless.

"Well, he's not wrong," Maria said. Both adults went silent.

"It's bad over there, isn't it?" Tony asked. Maria opened her mouth to dismiss him. Claim it was normal teenager issues, but then she saw his face. The genuine concern. Determination to fix things.

"Well..." she lowered her voice, "No, it's... It's not that big of a deal." she couldn't find the words to say, she wanted to tell him, but she just didn't know how or if she should.

"Just normal teenage issues, Tony," Pepper looked like she was about to kill him, but Tony, for the first time since Pepper had been around, seemed one hundred percent not focused on her, his eyes were scanning his daughter.

"Maria, I was around when your mom was a kid. Her mom was... Bad... If your mother is anything like that... I need to know," seeing the worry on Tony's face, Pepper's face paled, she looked terrified. If Tony was that worried... It had to be bad.

"She doesn't like... Hurt us, persay, it's not like that," Maria said. Tony leaned back.

"Maybe not physically. There's more than one way to hurt someone," he replied. Maria pushed down her anxiety.

"She... I... Need to go to the bathroom!" she stood up abruptly and ran too the back. Pepper looked to him.

"You shouldn't have pressured her, she barely knows you," she said. Tony looked at her, that aching look on his face.

"Was it that bad?" Pepper asked.

"Joy's sister took her own life because it got to be too much," Tony answered. Pepper sucked in a breath.

"Okay... We've got the Summer... We'll talk to her when she's more comfortable. Just because Joy went through it doesn't mean she'd put her own child through it." Pepper said. Tony nodded but couldn't help the fear sitting in his stomach. He sure hoped not.

Maria was unpacking, headphones shoved in her ears. It was an extremely large room, with a bathroom, and walk in closet that was bigger than her room back home. She didn't need the space. She had functioned most of her life without it and didn't mind a tighter living quarters, but it was kind of nice. She just had to get used to the large size and emptiness. It was rare that she fell asleep without first hearing the sounds of her two sister's breathing. A habit she half created by waiting till they were asleep to allow herself to drift. If her parents were arguing, which they often did, she wanted to be awake to comfort her sisters.

She looked up to see her door open and Tony lingering. She pulled out a headphone.

"Sorry, I knocked but you weren't answering," he said, she shrugged.

"Whatever... What do you need?" she asked, looking back down at the clothes she was folding.

"So, I'm going out to dinner with some co-workers day after tomorrow and they want to meet you... Interested?" he asked. She looked up.

"Co-workers as in people that work for Stark Industries?" she asked, if that was it, she would opt to stay out, she wasn't a fan of new people, after all, she lived in a town where she knew every single person by name. She rarely met knew people and when she did, it was on her territory. He shook his head.

"Uh, no, the Avengers, actually," he said. She couldn't help the grin that broke out on her face.

"All of them?" she asked. He nodded. "Like, red, white, and blue, skin tight suit, hotness and the perfect definition of female in empowerment in a leather jacket, will be there?!" she questioned. He scowled.

"You mean Cap and Widow?" he asked. She nodded eagerly.

"Yes, but... stay away from Rogers," he pointed. She rolled her eyes.

"Sure. And yeah, I'll totally go!" she exclaimed. He nodded.

"Alright, it's a fancy restraunt so, fancy dress," he said. She nodded and yawned. Tony glanced at his watch.

"It's getting late, kiddo, you should head to bed," he claimed. Normally she would have argued that it was only 9:15 but she was exhausted.

"Yeah. night, Tony," she waved.

"Night,"

As she layed in bed, she instantly began to regret saying yes. She had gotten excited, how could she not? They were the Avengers! Still, now not only was she meeting new people, she was meeting heroes, in a fancy restraunt probably nothing like the one mom and pops diner back home, in fancy clothing (which she never did, the fanciest she went was a nice blouse and dark jeans). She was not ready. She took I'm a deep breath and reminded herself of her promise.

"You can do this," she whispered, "you have to do this, you have to embrace it. For yourself,"

"Seriously? I cannot see you wearing that!" Danielle was on the screen of the Stark Industries laptop Tony had given Maria the next morning, along with a Stark Industries cell phone and tablet. She had tried to refuse but Tony wasn't giving up and she didn't see the point in fighting. He was a billionaire after all. Maria looked down at the red dress she was holding.

"It's Pepper's, I had to borrow it because I didn't have anything fancier," she shrugged. The dress was simple, strapless, a few inches above the knee, and a deep maroon color. Pepper had given her heels that matched but she was probably just going to wear her converse, that was a fight she would fight.

"Yeah... I don't know, I kind of like it. Mom would die if she saw me wearing it. 'Oh my God, Maria, you look like a slut, besides, you're too fat to pull anything like that off.'," Maria mocked her mother's voice and Danielle chuckled slightly. There was the underlying discomfort at the fat comment, seeing as it was certainly a comment her mother would have made.

"Is that Maria!?" she heard Kade call. Danielle turned.

"When did you get here?" she asked.

"Just now!" Kade flopped onto the bed and into view.

"Ria!!!" he exclaimed. She flinched.

"God, you know I hate that nickname," she cringed. He chuckled.

"Hey, is that yours?!" he asked, referencing the dress. She rolled her brown eyes.

"No. It's Tony's girlfriends," she replied.

"Ah... Why do you have it? Stark hasn't turned you into his errand girl, has he? I will kill him!" he said. She giggled slightly.

"No, it's not dry cleaning, I borrowed it, I'm going out to dinner with the Avengers tonight," she answered.

"No way! Are you going to get to meet your man and woman crush tonight?!" he asked. She stuck her tongue out at him, but blushed.

"Yeah..." she said sheepishly.

"Hm... The 'Chronically Insane' boys are going to be jealous, they're all pining for you," he said.

"Oh, whatever," Maria shook her head, "first off, Jordan is gay, so that's one off the list. Second, Jonathan is just a jokester, any flirting he does is one hundred percent fake. Third, Peter just got out of a serious relationship, he's healing. Fourth, Wyatt is pining after Danielle,"

"He is not!" Danielle exclaimed, tired of repeating this conversation.

"You love each other!" Maria exclaimed.

"I hate you, it's five-thirty, get ready for your dinner with superheros," Danielle ordered. Maria stuck out her tongue which she returned and they hung up. Maria held out the dress.

"Right... Dinner with my billionaire, superhero, father and his superhero buddies... Cause that's not weird,"

Maria pushed a lock of brown hair behind her ear as she arrived downstairs. Pepper's back was too her as she spoke on the phone. Tony was nowhere to be seen. She looked around the large room and spotted the piano, she smoothed out the dress and walked over to it. Pepper glanced at her, finally noticing, and gave her a small smile.

Maria's fingers grazed the keys as her mind searched for a good song. After a moment she began to play, leaning in with each note, her body moving along to the rhythm. It was an old song, a love song, it was about a man and woman destined to be together but the God's wanted them apart. It wasn't lyrical but the way the mood changed and moved, it still told the story.

When she finished, the room was dead silent. You could hear a pin drop. She looked up to see Pepper and Tony staring at her, mouths dropped open. She bit her lip and dropped her hands, smiling sheepishly.

"Uh, sorry, should we leave?" she asked. Tony shook his head vigorously.

"N-no, don't apologize that was- my mom used to force me to go to these famous pianist's recitals when I was a kid and they were terrible but that- that wasn't terrible," he said. She chuckled slightly.

"Uh, thank you?" she said. Pepper rolled her eyes.

"What he means to say, is that was beautiful," she said. Maria felt herself blush.

"Thank you... Sorry if it got too loud I was trying to be quiet since you were on the phone but I got carried away," she admitted. Pepper waved her off.

"No worries, I was almost done anyways. Shall we be off?" she asked. The Starks nodded and the trio walked down to the garage where Tony led them to his car.

"That is the most beautiful car I think I have ever seen!" she was over the moon. Tony's garage was lined with cars, some new, some old, she could name every single one of them, the older ones intrigued her the most.

"Do you know what it is or do you just like how it looks?" he smirked. She scoffed.

"It's a Chevy Cruze, probably... 1968 I think," she said. He raised his eyebrows.

"You know cars?" he asked. She then proceeded to name every single car in the garage. Again, she had left the two adults stunned.

"Alright... Well, get in kid," he finally said. She rolled her eyes and hopped in the back. Hm, maybe she and Tony could bond over cars one day.

The first thing that happened when Maria stepped into the restaurant was a bunch of gasps. It was loud and surprised. The second thing to happen was her being bombarded.

"The kid looks just like you,"

"I cannot believe you reproduced, Stark,"

"Oh my God you weren't kidding,"

"She's your spitting image,"

"Poor kid,"

You're offspring shares many traits with you, man of iron,"

"Hey! I'm right here!" Maria waved at the Avengers who were all speaking about her as if she weren't there.

"Yes you are," Natasha Romanoff Aka the black widow, chuckled at her outburst. Maria's face turned as red as Natasha's hair and she smiled, embarrassed.

"Hi," she smiled shyly.

"Hi," Natasha replied, giving the teen a soft smile.

"Right, well, let's sit, the owner wants to start letting other customers in within two hours," Tony reminded them as they all moved to a spot at the table. Maria, moving back into her shy, introverted, state, moved quickly, making sure she was in between Pepper and Tony. Tony was startled when she took the only other empty seat next to his girlfriend, seeing as Natasha was on the other side. He was about to make some snide when he saw his daughter's eyes dart over the full table, full of loud chatter from the other Avengers. He mentally cursed himself. This was the second full day she had been with him and he was already introducing her to all of his large, famous, and intimidating friends? She was overwhelmed and nervous, he needed to tread carefully, for her sake. So, he sat next to her, who seemed to relax a little at his presence, making him smile.

Maria swept her gaze over the table. On the side across from her was Thor, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, a brunette whom she didn't recognize (she soon learned it was an old SHIELD agent named Maria Hill), and Clint Barton. On the far end of her side started Bruce Banner, then Tony, her, Pepper, and lastly, Natasha Romanoff. This set up had her across from Captain, freaking America, and one seat away from Black Widow.

Pepper smiled at her and slid a menu in front of her. She opened it up and scanned the contents, her eyebrows furrowed with each word. What the hell was caviar? She glanced up at Pepper who was chatting with Natasha, having already decided what she was going to get. She then glanced over at her father who was engrossed in a conversation about something science-y with Bruce.

"Having trouble?" Steve asked. Her head snapped towards him, her eyes wide. She opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out. She just nodded.

"Don't worry, just repeat what someone else around you says, it's what I always do," he replied with a wink, trying to calm her nerves. Steve watched as she smiled softly and thanked him. He felt bad for the kid, the way she was just being thrown into her Dad's world. She was clearly overwhelmed and he wanted to calm her nerves.

Luckily, she didn't even have to take Steve's advice and just hope whatever she ordered tasted good, Tony saved her.

"Don't worry, kid, we'll go get burgers after this," he whispered to her before ordering the both of them the smallest dish they had. Maria grinned.

"Bless you," she muttered in response.

"So, Maria, what do you like to do for fun?" Steve asked. She bit her lip and looked down at her plate.

"Uh, not much, I, uh, I like to play music," she admitted quietly.

"Really? What instrument do you play?" Natasha asked. Maria smiled softly and rubbed her palms on her thighs.

"A few different ones," she answered.

"More than one? Wow, what are they?" Pepper asked.

"Oh jeez, should I list them?" she asked.

"Please do, I'm interested now," Steve said.

"Um, okay, well, uh, piano, flute, clarinet, cello, violin, bass, electric and acoustic guitar, drums, and I sing a little," she said. Everyone looked at her.

"That's a lot!" Pepper finally exclaimed. She smiled slightly, if there was one thing she was confident in, it was music.

"There's not much to do around our tiny town and I know the lady that owns the music shop well enough that she let's me practice in her shop after it closes on occasion," she shrugged.

"Wait, you learned how to do all of that just by practicing in a music shop on 'occasion'?" Steve asked. She nodded and looked at her hands.

"Yeah, except, I own an acoustic guitar," she said.

"Well, as much as junior Stark interests me, you guys need to suit up, there's a mission," Fury barked, standing up. Everyone nodded, getting up.

"Get her home," Tony handed Pepper the keys who nodded, urging Maria out of the restaurant.

"Is worrying this much normal? I don't even know what they're doing, but I'm freaking out," Maria finally blurted later, as she and Pepper watched Supernatural on Netflix. Pepper was on the couch, French braiding the teens hair, just for fun, and she was sitting on the floor.

"Believe me, it's normal," Pepper practically snorted, weaving strands of brunette through each other.

"Glad I'm not alone then," she muttered, sighing. They sat in silence for a little while longer.

"Dean Winchester is one of the most handsome men I've ever laid eyes on," Maria sighed, staring at the character on the screen.

"Agreed," Pepper sighed.

"Captain America is on that list too," she admitted. She could feel Pepper grin from behind her.

"Ooh, you have the hots for Captain America?" Pepper teased.

"And Black Widow," she giggled. Pepper froze and Maria worried about her possibly being a homophobe. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything...

"Oh my God, you have a girl crush on Nat? That's the best thing I have ever heard," she squealed, finishing up the braid.

"Don't tell her," Maria begged, pulling the braid over her shoulder.

"You're secrets safe with me," Pepper winked. Maria smiled and climbed up onto the couch.

"Could you tell me about Tony? Not the stuff the media says, the real stuff." she asked. Pepper smiled and paused to think.

"Okay, how to explain your Dad... Tony, he- he pretends to be this arrogant, selfish, rich kid, but in reality, your father is one of the most amazing, caring, people I've ever met." Pepper said. Maria gave her a slight smile.

"So, if I had grown up here, he would have been a good father?" she asked. Pepper pursed her lips in thought.

"I think- - Having you would have changed him into who he needed to be. Kind of like with becoming Iron Man," she finally said. Maria looked at her hands that were resting on her folded legs. Her mind traveled back into the past. To every screaming match between her parents, every tantrum her mom had thrown, every harsh word thrown at her. She remembered all of the time she sobbed, broken, on her bed, feeling so utterly worthless because of something her mother had said. How her father never had the guts to stand up for any of them. She went through every hurtful word, every pan thrown, every screech directed towards her, the world shattering insults, the manipulation. She felt her hand being gripped.

"Maria, what's the matter sweetie?" Pepper asked. Maria looked up at her, tears streaming down her face.

"If I had grown up here, she wouldn't have been able to hurt me, would she?" she asked. Pepper frowned and pulled the teenager in who let out a loud sob before going back into uncontrollable, silent, tears. The older woman rubbed her back, whispering soothing words into her ears.

Tony walked in and saw the two embracing each other, Maria shaking in his girlfriend's arms, clearly sobbing. He locked eyes with Pepper who looked so sad for the girl. Not knowing what to do he slowly left the living room, and went into his own.

Maria twisted underneath the sheets. She was mumbling, her lips curled into a tight frown, her eyes squeezed shut. It was a nightmare, or, a memory, rather. The covers ended up on the floor and quickly after, she shot up in bed. Breathing heavily she ran a hand through her damp brown hair. Why must she sweat so much? She pulled herself out of the bed and made her way down to the living room to find the TV already on and Tony on the couch. The young girl moved to leave, but his eyes found her and he gave her a half smile.

"Couldn't sleep either?" he asked. She shook her head, but didn't say anything.

"Come on," he patted the cushion next to him and she slowly walked over. Her eyes flit to the screen and she scowled.

"Sports Center?" she asked. He shrugged.

"I wasn't really paying attention. Why are you awake?" he asked. She twisted her thumbs around each other, they were suddenly very interesting. She was too tired to make up lies or avoid the question, so she didn't.

"Nightmare," she muttered.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No,"

"Okay,"

The two sat in silence, staring at the screen but not really watching for several minutes.

"What was my mom like when you were together?" she asked. Tony looked down at her.

"She was compassionate, selfless, wanted to show people the kindness she never got at home," he said. Maria looked up at him, their eyes locking.

"I think we're talking about two different people," she said.

"Maria, what does your mom do to you?" he asked. She opened her mouth and then closed it.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter," she snatched the remote off of the coffee table and changed the channel to one playing old musicals, this one being 'The Sound of Music'. Tony didn't press. He wanted too, but he knew better. She was opening up and it was only day three, that was good, she'd tell him, eventually.

"You still owe me that burger," she pointed out to him.

"I do, don't I. Tomorrow," he promised. She smiled and nodded. As the movie went on she slowly began to fall asleep, her head eventually hitting his shoulder. He watched as she peacefully slept against him and smiled, smoothing her hair with his hand. He could do this, he knew he could.

 **So there's the chapter! Don't worry, we're going to get to action and stuff eventually but I'm trying to build a relationship with Maria and Tony before I get to Ultron. Also, I have an announcement to make:**

 **You can create a character or be in the story! I'm looking for two female characters and a male, obviously I can make them on my own but I thought it would be cool to implement you guys into it! So fill out the form below and Pm it to me to enter!!! Thanks so much for the positive feedback and reviews!!!**

 **Form:**

 **Name:**

 **Gender:**

 **Age (16-18):**

 **Sexuality:**

 **Hair color:**

 **Eye color:**

 **Other physical attributes:**

 **Style:**

 **Artistic skill:**

 **(You'll figure out why you need to have an artistic skill soon, but it can be anything. An instrument, singing, writing, acting, painting, sculpting, etc.)**

 **Personality (3 positive, 3 negative):**

 **Anything else:**

 **Pm me if you have any questions!!!! Have fun!!!!**


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